AP US Government : Court Cases
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US Government
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Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Interpretation Of Court Case Verdicts
What is oberta dicta?
“incorrect language”
“closed remarks”
“obvious sayings” (remarks inconsistent with the opinion)
“by the way” (remarks outside the central holding of the opinion)
“by the way” (remarks outside the central holding of the opinion)
Oberta Dicta is Latin for “by the way” (or thereabouts), and, legally speaking, it refers to remarks that are outside of the scope of the central holding of the opinion. This is somewhat nebulous and confusing, so an example would likely be of assistance.
Imagine there was a court case regarding a copyright infringement. Imagine further that the defendant raised two defenses: (1) that he didn’t copy the plaintiff’s work, and (2) that, if he did, his use was “fair use.” (You have absolutely no reason to know what “fair use” is, and you don’t need to—just keep reading!). Now, at the close of the case, the judge hands down a decision in favor of the defendant. Specifically, the judge finds that the defendant did not copy the plaintiff’s work (this would be the central holding). The judge, however, does not stop there—her decision tackles the defendant’s “fair use” defense. This is “oberta dictum” (singular—that is “um” rather than “a”—because it’s only one incident). Do you see why?
The reason, of course, is that the judge exceeded the bounds of the central holding. Because the judge already decided that the defendant did not copy the plaintiff’s work (defense number one), anything the judge decides regarding defense number two (“fair use”) is superfluous to the holding.
Example Question #3 : Interpretation Of Court Case Verdicts
The _______________ in a case is the part of the [appellate] opinion that discusses who wins (or loses) and why—in other words, it creates precedent.
Concurrence
Dicta
Central holding
Dissent
Central holding
This should have been a relatively simple question, given the choices. The answer is “central holding.” The central holding of a case does two very important things: one, it hands down a verdict—that is, who won (and thus who lost); and two, it explains why. In an appellate (that is, “upper”) court, the “why” is important: it creates precedent for the lower courts to follow when confronting similar cases.
Example Question #1032 : Ap Us Government
A _____________ does not create binding precedent for the lower courts to follow. (Remember: precedent is an articulated rule of law that lower courts must follow).
Two of these answers are correct
majority decision
dissent
concurrence
Two of these answers are correct
The two answers reading “concurrence” and “dissent” are correct. Remember: a majority decision does create binding precedent. At any rate, a concurrence and dissent, while neither create binding precedent, are two different kinds of animals, metaphorically speaking. A concurrence is by a judge (or justice) who agrees with the majority, however, wants to articulate additional reasons for signing on to the majority decision. A dissent is by a judge (or justice) who does not agree with the majority (and articulates reasons for doing so).
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